Remy Ma: ‘Husband Papoose kept my spirits up behind bars’

Newly freed rapper Remy Ma has credited her husband, Papoose, with keeping her spirits up while serving an eight-year sentence for a 2007 shooting.

The “Lean Back” hit maker, real name Reminisce Smith, walked free from the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York on 1 August, after completing six years of her 2008 sentence for assault, weapons possession and attempted coercion relating.

Now Remy Ma has opened up about her time in prison, insisting she wouldn’t have made it through without the support of fellow hip-hop star Papoose, who made her his wife in 2008, while she was incarcerated.

During an interview on SiriusXM radio show Sway In The Morning, she revealed a lot of inmates would suffer from depression and stress, but she was able to hold her head high thanks to her loved ones – and their emotional and physical support has helped her make a smooth transition back into life outside of prison.

She explained, “Me and my case, I had a very strong support system. Not just my family and my friends, but my husband was ultimately super supportive. When I first got there, (Papoose) came up, literally, every single day for the first year I was there, visiting from like 8.30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday … and which ever weekend my visit alternated on.

“So, when you have that support system that keeps you in tune with the world and keeps you sane, it’s easier for you to come back and be how I am now.”